06 October, 2015 by James Drew – FG

Washington DC  - Northrop Grumman has built the first F-35 centre fuselage destined for Japan’s domestic joint strike fighter assembly plant, operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

The company says the centre fuselage is the core of AX-5, Japan’s fifth example, and will become the first to enter Japan's Nagoya final assembly and checkout plant instead of prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas. “It is the 207th centre fuselage that the company has produced at its Palmdale site, and the 30th such unit delivered this year,” the company said in a 4 October statement. “[MHI] will perform final assembly and checkout of the Japanese F-35As. The process includes mating the centre fuselage to the forward fuselage/cockpit and wings produced by Lockheed Martin, and the aft fuselage produced by BAE Systems.”

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05 October, 2015 BY: James Drew – FG

Washington DC - Lockheed Martin’s F-35 has not yet seen combat, but already the defence manufacturer is exploring “concepts” for installing and employing a high-power fibre laser weapon on the new-generation combat jet for shooting down missiles and other airborne threats.

The company believes it finally has the right technology to produce modular and scalable fibre laser weapons for trucks, ships and aircraft, and a high-power, 60kW example will enter production for the US Army later this month. The F-35 has been in development since 2001 and only recently was declared fit for combat with the US Marine Corps. However, Lockheed’s Rob Afzal says company engineers are already thinking about how a laser weapon system could fit onto the supersonic stealth fighter and its usefulness in combat. “Absolutely, we’re looking at concepts for the integration of a laser weapon onto the F-35,” the Lockheed senior fellow for laser and sensor systems said at a media briefing 5 October. “We’re also looking at the utility and doing models and calculations so you would understand the utility of a leaser weapon system in the F-35.”

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Oct 6, 2015 by Richard Tomkins. (UPI)

Bothell, Wash - A modular, high-power laser is being built for use from a U.S. Army vehicle by Lockheed Martin.

The 60-kilowatt fiber modules system is the first of a new generation of lasers that enters production this month at the company's facility in Washington State.

The system's modular laser design will allow the laser's power to be varied across a wide range -- from 60 kW to 120 kW -- depending on the specific mission and threat, Lockheed Martin said.

"A robust laser system with minimal operational down-time results from the integration of modular fiber-based lasers," said Iain Mckinnie, business development lead for Laser Sensors and Systems, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training. "With modular lasers, the possibility of a complete system failure due to a single-point disruption is dramatically lessened."

Lockheed Martin said its laser combines multiple fiber modules to generate an intense laser beam. The layered approach reduces the chance for mission disruption as a result of a component failure, maintenance or repair time is also reduced.

"Laser weapons provide a compliment to traditional kinetic weapons in the battlefield," Lockheed Martin said. "In the future, they will offer reliable protection against threats such as swarms of drones or large numbers of rockets and mortars."

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI)

U.S. lawmakers and defense officials are concerned as more tests on the F-35 joint-strike fighter reveal more complications than they thought.

Defense News reports the concerns stem from the testing of the new Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat system, which testers discovered may put pilots at risk of fatal injury. During the tests, ejections performed during low-speed flights showed test dummies snapping their necks.

Test results revealed that when lighter pilots are operating the F-35, the Martin-Baker seats rotate too much. The U.S. military now prohibits pilots weighting under 136 pounds from operating the F-35.

In response to the potentially grim test results, some lawmakers are calling for increased oversight of the joint-strike fighter program. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the Pentagon is erroneously rushing the program.

5 October 2015 army-technology.com

Harris has secured a contract to supply a new specialised, handheld, tactical communication system to the US Special Operations Forces (SOF).

Awarded by the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the $390m single-source, indefinite delivery/quantity contract consists of a five-year base period and one-year option. Under the contract, the company will deliver new integrated two-channel, handheld radios as part of the SOF Tactical Communications (STC) programme. The STC handheld radio combines communications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to meet the SOF's unique mission requirements in the harshest environments. Designed to address rigorous requirements for small, lightweight, multiband, multifunction, multimission tactical radios, the STC platform can be upgraded easily and features built-in backward interoperability to communicate over conventional networks.

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A Desert Wolf Skunk UAV.

07 October 2015 by Guy Martin - defenceWeb

Local surveillance company Desert Wolf is adding grenades to its Skunk riot control unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is currently being manufactured with four paintball markers.

Hennie Kieser, Director of Desert Wolf, told defenceWeb that the non-lethal grenades are being supplied by a company in South America and will be available in a number of different formats, including smoke, flash-bang, tear gas etc. Up to 48 grenades can be carried by the upgraded Skunk GL UAV.

The grenades will be dropped over crowds and descend via parachute, minimising collateral damage on the ground and allowing the smoke to spread from above.

The South American company commissioned development of the grenade version of the Skunk, which will be marketed jointly by both it and Desert Wolf.

Kieser said he expected test flights and customer acceptance of the grenade version by the end of December. Photos and videos of the Skunk GL will be made available in the next 6-8 weeks.

Desert Wolf is currently manufacturing its Skunk UAV in Europe. This version is fitted with four paintball markers able to fire a variety of different rounds, from hard plastic to pepper spray. Manufacturing is underway for seven different customers, which have ordered some 400 airframes. Two batches of aircraft have already been shipped and pilots trained. These seven orders should be completed by year-end, Kieser said.

The skunk riot control UAV is being developed into a whole family that can be used for a variety of duties, such as search and rescue, surveillance, LIDAR scanning and lifeguard.

The Skunk multirotor, armed with four paintball markers, cameras and a loudhailer, was unveiled at the IFSEC security exhibition in Johannesburg in May last year, where it generated a considerable amount of interest both locally and abroad.

The Skunk has evolved into the Skunk II. It features two high definition colour cameras, a thermal camera for night operations, spot/strobe lights, eye-safe pulsating lasers, speakers, police sirens and flashing blue lights and four paintball markers.

7 October 2015 Ministry of Defence and Philip Dunne MP

Construction of the final Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) took an important step forward today.

Construction of the final Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) took an important step forward today, as the Minister of State for Defence Procurement started a computer-guided laser to cut the first piece of hull.

During a visit to BAE Systems’ Govan yard in Glasgow, Defence Minister Philip Dunne saw progress on the build of the first and second OPVs and met members of the workforce on a programme that has protected more than 800 Scottish jobs.

HMS Trent is the third of three Offshore Patrol Vessels which will begin joining the fleet in 2017. Alongside HMS Forth and HMS Medway, HMS Trent will go on to take part in counter terrorism, combating piracy, halting smuggling and defending UK waters.

The vessels are being built at BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde as part of a £348 million contract.

Defence Minister, Philip Dunne, said:

These new ships will provide an important capability to the Royal Navy and our Armed Forces‎. They will perform vital tasks in defending the nation’s interests around the world.

This investment forms part of over £160 billion in our 10 year Equipment Plan which is funded out of the newly protected Defence budget.

Manufacture of these ships sustains over 800 quality engineering jobs here in Scotland, ensuring that the shipyards on the Clyde continue to sit at the heart of a thriving naval shipbuilding capability. They are paving the way for work to begin on our new T26 frigates next year.

This third generation of River-class patrol ship is expected to displace approximately 1,800 tonnes, be about 90m long and 13m wide and have a range of over 5,000 nautical miles.

Director Ships Support at the MOD’s Defence, Equipment and Support organisation, Neal Lawson, said:

HMS Trent, along with HMS Forth and HMS Medway, will provide the Royal Navy with the flexibility to operate in a wide variety of roles in UK waters and overseas. More capable than the existing River class, they will have a flight deck to take the latest Merlin helicopters, fire fighting equipment, and increased storage capacity and accommodation.

But the importance of this programme is not only that the OPVs will have the latest technology in new ships, but also that the build programme acts as a stepping stone to work on our future multi-mission warship, the Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

Construction of the first two ships, HMS Forth and HMS Medway, is already well underway.

06 October 2015 by Guy Martin - defenceWeb

Land Mobility Technologies (LMT) will officially unveil its new LM14 cost effective armoured personnel carrier (APC) next month at the South African Army’s annual infantry conference.

The company funded LM14 is a completely new design that was developed in response to a need for a cost effective solution aimed at the African market as well as the United Nations and South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Development began on 26 January, with design and development being concluded in nine months. The first vehicle rolled out of the prototype shop on 16 September. At the moment LMT is busy with certification of the vehicle and will go into production as soon as a first order is received.

Vinesh Selvan, Head of Business Development at LMT, told defenceWeb that the market for the vehicle is of a significant size as there appears a genuine demand for low cost APCs and the company has already had some expressions of interest from certain parties.

The LM14 is a candidate to meet the South African Army’s Project Sepula to replace some of its aging armoured vehicles, particularly Casspirs and Mambas, although this project is currently stalled.

The LM14 carries eight troops in addition to a driver, commander and a gunner, with all ten having firing ports. Turrets can be mounted on top – at the moment the prototype is fitted with a manned .50 Browning machinegun mount on the roof. The vehicle is ballistically and mine protected.

In addition to armoured personnel carrier configuration, the LM14 is also offered in armoured ambulance and command and control configurations.

LMT developed three new vehicles (the LM8 special operations vehicle, LM13 Multi-purpose combat vehicle and LM18 Protected transport vehicle) for a country in the Middle East and is currently working on another two new vehicles. It is also doing some design work for countries in the Middle East.

LMT specialises in ballistic, landmine and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) protection and the integration of these protection technologies into armoured vehicles, and has the ability to design and manufacture mine-protected vehicles with amongst others, flat or semi-flat floor mine protection. Vehicles with this technology are generally lower and more spacious than vehicles with a conventional V-hull design and have a smaller profile.

LMT designed and qualified the flat floor landmine protection for the South African Army’s new Badger infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). Among LMT’s other products are the Gecko 8x8 tactical vehicle, used by the South African National Defence Force, armoured truck cabs, the AV55 light-protected vehicle and explosive ordnance disposal vehicles. LMT’s protected cabs are manufactured for Mercedes Benz in Germany and used by at least three NATO countries in areas such as Afghanistan. The company recently supplied more than 130 armoured cabs to Mercedes Benz.

Denel Group has a majority stake in LMT Holdings. The acquisition of LMT in 2012 expanded Denel’s range of vehicles and products, adding a capacity for mine-protected vehicles, hulls and cabs as well as product testing, simulations, maintenance and support of other products within the Denel Group.

For the 2014/15 financial year, LMT earned revenues of R231 million, up from R110 million the year before. Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) amounted to R13 million, up 225% from R4 million the year before and R6 million in 2013. Export revenues rose dramatically from R60 to 205 million, while employee numbers also rose from 135 to 285 for the 2015 financial year, according to the 2015 Denel annual report.

05 October 2015 by ADIT - The Bulletin

According to the latest KPMG Global Aerospace and Defence Outlook, firms in the Aerospace & Defence (A&D) sector are focusing on two axes: driving growth and managing cost savings.

The report is based on 68 top executives’ interviews. 53% of them prioritize sales growth; 47% cite reducing their cost structure; while maintaining their business model competitive is a top challenge for 38% of the senior executives and efforts to develop R&D is the second challenge for 32% of them.

“With growth remaining slow and prices under continued pressure, A&D organizations are looking ahead for untapped growth opportunities and then working to prepare the groundwork for future campaigns and opportunities”, said KPMG’s Global Head of A&D.

In order to do so, many respondents are looking to foreign markets to seize growth opportunities. Indeed, more than 25% of the participants said they would penetrate new geographic markets through acquisitions, JVs or alliances, and 13% declared they would rebalance their worldwide footprint. Other firms will also adapt their existing products and services to fulfil the requirements of these new markets, through assessments in culture, business behaviuors and governance structures. Furthermore, “it will be important for A&D organizations to apply more rigorous integrated business planning techniques so that revenue, investment, cost and profit are tightly coupled from both a financial and operational perspective as opportunities will emerge and vary both in timing and scale from expectation,” added a U.S. KPMG partner.

Another key-diver for growth is investments in R&D in order to seek new technologies and services. 50% of the respondents mentioned they expected new manufacturing technologies to drive future growth and innovation. The proportion of A&D organizations that claimed they would spend more than 6 % of their revenues on R&D over the next 2 years would increase from 28% to 41%. They cite for instance the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) market, the cyber security market and the various private Low Earth Orbit programmes as recent technological breaks on which they have to intensify R&D spending (46% of the participants said they would increase them to drive innovation).

In order to meet the two challenges of sales growth and cost management, A&D companies are reorganizing their supply chains. 55% of the respondents said they are focused on lowering costs and working capital levels across the supply chain. A third said that restructuring the supply chain to support growth is a top priority this year. 33% also claimed they would segment supply chain assets and process based on specific product demand profiles. Globally, the top executives of the sector intend to improve their supply chain flexibility and responsiveness. “We are seeing an increased focus on consolidating the buy capability and rationalizing spend in order to manage inventory at a more centralized level”, declared a U.S. KPMG Advisory Managing Director.

Although supplier capacity and risk are high on the A&D agenda as second and third greatest supply chain challenges, the visibility remains low. Indeed, only 10 % of A&D competitors reported that they had complete visibility and 40 % admitted they only had limited visibility. “Indeed, we see this lack of visibility as one of the greatest risks facing A&D organizations today from a delivery standpoint and a clear limitation on their ability to drive true and sustainable cost savings from the supply chain.”

6 oct. 2015 by BAE Systems

01 October 2015 Saab Press release

Defence and security company Saab has signed a contract to supply the Australian Defence Force with Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System (C-RAM) support with a contract value of approximately $AUD 26.4m (approximately SEK 168 million). The initial contract period includes the establishment period and three years of support services thereafter, with options of up to five 12-month extensions, that could take the contract period up to July 2024.

C-RAM is an essential capability to protect friendly forces from hostile fire. C-RAM sensors provide detection and warning against small, mobile and hard-to-find threats such as rocket and mortar fire. The C-RAM capability components to be supported under this contact are Giraffe Agile Multi-Beam (AMB) radar, Giraffe Training Simulator and a Lightweight-Counter Mortar Radar. The contract follows the 2010 procurement of Saab’s Giraffe AMB and Giraffe Training System Mission Systems to support Australian troops during Operation ‘Slipper’ in Afghanistan.

“The Giraffe AMB radar maintained an operational availability of 98.5 per cent in Afghanistan and was the first layer of defence against insurgent rocket attacks for the Australian led coalition base at Tarin Kot,” says Dean Rosenfield, Managing Director of Saab Australia.

“This contract is a boost to local industry with additional positions through the period of the contract to manage the Australian sub-supplier network and deep maintenance services from our headquarters in Adelaide”, says Rosenfield.

Adelaide-based, Saab Australia will lead an In-Service Support team which includes Saab in Gothenburg, Sweden and SRCTec, LLC in Syracuse,USA.

“Saab’s global radar operations are now growing in Australia. Our Australian staff has the full backing of Saab in Sweden in our proven through-life support of the Giraffe AMB. It is a solution shared by many Giraffe AMB customers and includes global logistics and supply, comprehensive training, maintenance and engineering. This contract also proves that Saab has the competence to be able to support radar systems from other OEMs”, says Anders Linder, Head of Saab business unit Surface Radar Solutions.

SRCTec has been sub-contracted to provide through-life support to the AN/TPQ-49 Lightweight-Counter Mortar Radar. Saab Australia will manage the support program, including the establishment and delivery of support services and support to the introduction-into-service requirements, associated with the three C-RAM capability components.

The C-RAM capability is intended to be absorbed into the wider Australian Defence Force ground based air and missile defence capability.

Headquartered in Adelaide, Saab Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saab AB, providing defence, security and traffic management solutions. With over 300 experienced staff across Australia and New Zealand, and a reputation for achieving complex systems integration projects on time, Saab Australia has proven its capabilities over more than 26 years.

If you go by the Hype Cycle — Gartner’s annual tech-buzz assessment — then consumer 3D printing is about to tumble from the “peak of inflated expectations” into the “trough of disillusionment,” part of the coming five- to 10-year slog to the practical applications that await atop the “plateau of productivity.” But Larry “L.J.” Holmes, the principal investigator for materials and technology development in additive manufacturing at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, (ARL) isn’t waiting around for that.

In a presentation last month at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance summit, Holmes sketched out a variety of potential uses for 3D printing for the military, ranging from intelligence to communications to terraforming the battlefield. Here are a few highlights.

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05 octobre 2015 par  Jacques Marouani - electroniques.biz

Le marché des drones se consolide peu à peu avec notamment le français Parrot qui a beaucoup investi dans ce domaine.

Au fur et à mesure que de nouvelles applications sont trouvées pour les drones civils, le marché se recompose peu à peu. Après avoir été vendue au groupe Viva Santé, celui-ci a vendu 90% des parts de Fly'n'Sens à Delta Drone. Ce rapprochement résulte du constat de nombreuses synergies existant entre les deux entités. Ainsi Fly'n'Sens apporte au nouvel ensemble son positionnement reconnu dans le secteur de la prévention et la surveillance des incendies de forêts, ainsi que dans le domaine de la viticulture.

Quant à Parrot, il a investi 1,6 million d’euros dans Airinov, société leader du drone au service de l’agriculture, en février 2014, et en juillet dernier, il a augmenté sa participation et détient désormais 53.1% des parts de l’entreprise, portant le montant total dédié à Airinov à plus de 9 millions d’euros.

Ce partenariat stratégique et économique est parti pour durer. Airinov souhaite notamment renforcer ses liens avec les autres sociétés du groupe (senseFLy et pix4D), afin de permettre au groupe Parrot d’asseoir sa position de leader mondial du drone civil.

En effet, Parrot a pris 51% du capital de l’Américain MicaSense, un spécialiste des drones pour l’agriculture de précision, et 45% du capital de l'Américain Iconem, spécialisé dans la conservation numérique des sites archéologiques.